Hey Gary.It was good to see you. Thanks for the critique, we need to hear more of that, especially the things that are not quite up to par yet. We're in an ongoing, seemingly unending training mode but are slowly getting there. Dirty espresso...I've noticed that from time to time. What causes that and how do we fix it. (Anyone, please jump in)

. . . Dmitri told me that he has lighter and darker roasted beans and this espresso was pulled with the darker roast which he used because it cuts well through the milk and most customers order milk based coffee drinks.

Actually, this makes a good deal of sense to me. Using a Swift is a limiting factor, but it would/might be a nice to pull straight shots with the lighter roast, and make the milk drinks with the darker roast . . . .

Dirty generally refers to bad flavors due defects in the coffee beans. To some people an unwashed coffee or a natural processed coffee tastes dirty. In my previous post I should have used the words, "the espresso flavor made me feel dirty". I get that from the wonderful description of Blue Bottle Yemen contrasting it to a clean tasting coffee,"Yemen, you might not like it. Lovers of clean, snappy costa ricans, or colombians might consider drinking a cup of yemen uncomfortably similar to being picked up by the lapels, shaken, then tossed into a grimy manhattan snow bank". I've made press pot coffee and espresso with Blue Bottle Yemen and that is exactly how I felt after drinking it, dirty, and I liked it!

With the hot weather in the Bay Area this weekend I went to Monterey to visit the Pacific ocean and drove past San Juan Bautista and got to visit Vertigo again. Dmitri told me that he still uses the same coffees in his blend, but currently stops the roasting process 7F cooler. The results were amazing. Gone are the roast flavors and the espresso had nice dark chocolate with clean fruit flavors and nice acidity. Espresso looked better too.

With the recommendations from this thread, I decided and got a chance to visit Cafe Lumiere and Vertigo today. Finally, I've found good and drinkable coffee in the Monterey area! If I really had to call it, I would say I enjoyed the cap I had at Vertigo more than Lumiere. Lumiere's coffee seems like it was roasted pretty dark, as there was a hint of ash/smoke in the finish. Still pretty enjoyable though, wtih good microfoam. Food looked decent too, but didn't partake since I've just had breakfast. Vertigo's cap was one of the more unusual caps I've had. Dmitri admitted to using some Indian in the blend. I think this is great. Having tasted Malabar Gold before, I thought that it was too spicy, and yes, dirty, if you will. However, the amount in the Monks Momentum blend gave it just enough spice, but not too dirty or old leather. Nice balance. I guess like the critic in the movie ratatouille, this cup took me back to the good memories of coffee I grew up with growing up in Asia. Not saying it was better or worse than the usual fruity tendencies of many third wave offerings, but certainly a welcome alternative.

Thanks for stopping by. Yes I think Indian coffees can be great in an espresso blend in a small percentage. Of course as soon as you mention India, Malabar comes up, monsoon-ed or otherwise. There are other Indian coffees out there. Ours is Jasmine estate, Yellikudige.

Plumes: is just yuck. I dont understand why they need nuvoa Simonelli if they are doing as in the picture!!

Lumiere: The cap was very bitter. I couldnt drink after 2 sips. I dont know whats happening with them. When I saw the extraction, water leaked from group head (maybe they require servicing!!). The barista was good and did some good latte art. When I asked about the beans she responded that they are acme (first time tasted their beans). Surprisingly, I saw that the grinder hopper didnt have any beans and looks like they grind beans ahead of time which really freaked me out. I dont know how it was earlier but personally(I am not a coffee expert but I want my coffee not to taste bitter) I will give a big thumbs down for this. Maybe there is not much crowd but thats just my guess.

On my way back to bay area, I took a coffee break (I was craving for this since friday) in santa cruz at none other than verve (Always top notch coffee). I was requesting them to open a shop. I also felt they didnt give proper attention to me when I mentioned about opening their shop in monterey/carmel area. Hopefully they will hear the plight of the coffee lovers and oblige.

Anything new? Its been over a year since anything was posted here. I still am looking for something good in Monterey. I live in Hollister and get almost all of my coffee from Vertigo (San Juan) but frequently find myself in Monterey and have nowhere to stop. Please tell me something decent has opened that I haven't found.

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